Shadows
Welcome to the end of our parody of Shadows of the Empire. It seems that Shadows of the Empire was a missed opportunity when you think about the potential for it to have crossed over into the Babylon 5 universe.
For those unfamiliar with B5, today’s strip refers to the Shadows, the big bad antagonists of the show for most of its duration. Leanne and I have been watching the series together over the last couple of months and have tried to think of ways to do a crossover. I think we found the perfect solution with this concluding strip.
Babylon 5 may not have been perfect, but it had the scariest looking spaceships in any sci-fi work I’ve ever seen. Living spaceships that sound like Peter Jackson’s Nazgul with megaphones.
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Next week, Return of the Jedi will begin. The final chapter in our plan to parody the original trilogy. Shadows was a fun diversion, though it was challenging at times. A lot of new art had to be created. For the most part we were gung ho about bringing all the ideas to life no matter how demanding they were visually. My final thoughts on the actual story of Shadows of the Empire are that it is a disappointment. The original LucasFilm project felt a bit too much like a bunch of people throwing ideas onto a dart board and trying to make a story out of it. I’m relieved to finally be at the end of the Shadows of the Empire parody, but at the same time, I’m proud of most of the strips and think a few cool ideas emerged in the process.
And what happened to Dash Rendar, I hear no one ask… Dash was killed off during the final space battle, only to reveal to the reader, moments later, that he faked his death to avoid the bounty on his head. He later goes on to hook up with Guri as his new “hotter” droid sidechick. Yeah. Best thing about Shadows? Boba Fett screwing around. When the Mandalorian merc takes his sweet time to get to Tatooine we get to see those bounty hunters from the brief scene in Empire Strikes Back, but they actually have good movie-canon motivations to create conflict with one another. The rest of the characters and story though? Meh. That’s Shadows.
Fear ye not! Return of the Jedi is finally around the corner. It feels weird announcing that it will debut next week. It always feels a little daunting knowing that a lot of new art lies ahead. Although Return ranks below Star Wars and Empire for me, I have strong nostalgia toward the film and the playthings it offers for our BMS sandbox are truly enticing. I’ve had some really cool BMS storyarcs planned for our ROTJ parody since we began this webcomic back in February 2009. At last Jabba, Bib Fortuna, Ackbar, Mon Mothma and Nien Nunb can make their long awaited splash in our parody.
One important note: Unfortunately, changes in our lives and the fact that BMS remains a hobby, have forced us to get serious about our life priorities. We will be updating ROTJ on an unscheduled basis for the foreseeable future. Our goal will be to publish at least 1-2 strips per week. One of the reasons we updated with 3 strips per week for a period during Shadows of the Empire was simply to get through it and back to the more familiar territory of the original trilogy films. Shadows is a tough beast to parody in the form of a webcomic due the limitations of our format and the epic and confusing scope of the Return of the Jedi prequel. I think it probably put off a few readers. Now we’re returning to steadier ground, we are more comfortable pacing ourselves again and hope you will stick with us to the end!
We should be back next Monday with our first strip for ROTJ. In the meantime, here’s another poll. Since last week’s Boba Fett Underpants poll was such an amazing success (733 votes in five days!), here’s a new one for you all to weigh in on…
As far as good ideas go for SotE, the one I liked best was Vader force-exploding asshole Xizor! 2 Thumbs up!
Yes, my favorites parts also had to do with Xizor abuse, from Leia too!
B5 was truly epic through season 4. Their Starfury fighters were a bit X-wingy, too, especially the Thunderbolt models.
On to Return of the Jedi!
Agreed.
Bwahahahaha, fantastic Babylon 5 reference!
Congratulations with completing Shadows! I was hoping you were going to make it when you were considering doing it. Just makes me want to get my act together and read that book. Or get the audio book. 😉
Can’t wait for ROTJ!
Loving the B5 reference, awesome!
Good job, guys!
It might have felt like a slog at times, but you pulled through with flying colors – you seem to have a knack at spinning gold out of dross (see ‘Splinter of the Mind’s Eye’)
Now, onto that film where the cool villain dies far too easily, there is a high-speed chase for no reason other than to have a high-speed chase and a particularly annoying and childish indigenous species helps our heroes defeat the baddies. I refer, of course to The Phantom Mena… oh, wait…
Yeah, I’ve always thought RotJ is a lot closer to the PT than most OT fans would like to admit.
There’s no comparison. Phantom Menace did not have Carrie Fisher in a metal bikini.
Hey, I think you and LeAnne improved on it. I don’t even feel like I need to or want to read it now.
Mostly, I love what you guys are doing with Chewbacca. I’m always doing voiceovers for Chewie when I watch the movies, like captioning cat pictures. You guys are capturing him very well.
I can’t read it now. My entire concept of SotE is based on the BMS version. The original would seem wrong (and probably boring) by comparison.
Thank you very, very much!!!
I used to like BMS, but now… now I’m crazy about it!
I’m a big fan of B5, even more than StarWars. So many thanks to you one more time and may the Force be with you!
WOO! Nice B5 reference! 🙂
Wonderful B-5 reference. 🙂
Please feel free to Kill Xizor again. 🙂
Sorry to toot my own horn, but I love the way that window turned out. I never could have imagined it in a comic when I drew it. I always get a kick of seeing my stuff turn up unexpectedly, it’s the little things. 🙂
Sorry! I feel like i haven’t credited you enough, T. I did add a little work to it, but it’s become invaluable for quickly communicating the location: the Emperor’s lair. Same with the blockade runner hallways. Nice work!
Dude, I’m just overjoyed that something I designed in 2004, for myself is actually getting use (on BMS no less). 🙂
Great job on SOTE guys. I’ve really enjoyed it. That said I can’t wait to see BMS jabba ! Also I can’t wait to see what you do with the scene where ob1’s lie (from a certain point of view) comes out, oh and Luke’s reaction to finding out leia is his sister, and the ewoks, and ‘its a trap!!’ So much to look forward to…….
“And what happened to Dash Rendar, I hear no one ask… “. LOL!!
HURRAAAA!!!!! for SOTE… you delighted me again… _I continue adding chapters to my book. Rod!!!! I wondering how will be the introduction “poster” for ROTJ (you killed me with the one of ESB). jajajaj and remember you owe us the one for ANH. THANKS A LOT ROD!!!! GRACIAS!!!
Love the B5 reference…I didn’t catch that show until after it ended. I love the series and the novels that told what happened later.
Shadows of the Empire was not bad, if I was a new fan never having seen Return of the Jedi, perhaps that would be an interesting story but long after the fact, it feels like a puzzle piece shoved in.
Definitely looking forward to your take on Return of the Jedi.
As with everyone, I say Thank You. Thanks for showing us ‘Shadows’ so that those of us who don’t know it can enjoy it without having to deal with it ourselves, and we all enjoy a BMS take on anything, especially with cameos. And thanks to T Gatto for all the things you’ve done to help BMS out over the years. I’ve neverr made one of the Milk Cartons myself but I have the files for it if I do, and always enjoy seeing the finished ones you post.
Catch you at Baltimore, and so you like milk or dark chocolate?
Milk. 🙂 Looking forward to seeing you!
I stumbled across this comic purely by accident, but am I did. Loved the B5 reference and definitely a fan.
Oh. Look at that.
I think this means the Rebel Alliance loses.
Just realized that the reason it is called “Shadows” of the Empire might have something to do with the plot revolving around a shady criminal organization that… works in the shadows of the Empire?
I stumbled across this a few years ago, forgot about it, and now have returned…and holy hell, I love you guys. You’re geniuses. Leia’s character is brilliant; the plots are hilarious; the crossovers are spectacular. The only sad thing about this will be when it ends. :p
Thanks for doing Shadows. I enjoyed it. I am aware of B5, but i never got into it when it was on TV. I was probably a bit too young to appreciate it. That is a good joke even if I didn’t get it until you explained it. I have a fondness for Shadows from the N64 game, but reading your parody of that, the novel, and the comics makes me realize its not that good of a story and I was just a SW nut as a kid. I’m still a SW nut and that’s not going to change, but i acknowledge that there are bad stories out there in the SW universe.
Looking forward to ROTJ and hopefully at least some stuff on the prequels.
John
I haven’t read Shadows of the Empire, but it was an amazing job you guys did with the BMS version. For stuff like Xizor pheromones I am glad this stuff was left out of the new canon and even when there are purists crying out loud for it to be made canon, the existence of a novel called “Moving Target” makes it almost impossible to be done.